Burrillville battles back to top Islanders
Broncos spot Middletown first 15 points, win 20-15
BURRILLVILLE — Managing just six points before halftime and with little excitement to speak of, the Burrillville High football team needed a spark against a Middletown team that proved to be no slouch on Saturday.
No matter that he’s one of the smallest players on the field, the Broncos found someone to turn the game around in the person of junior Bobby Thatcher.
A hard-nosed runner who won’t go down easily, Thatcher sprang off left tackle for an 11-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 8 minutes, 57 seconds remaining. Those decisive points proved to be the capper in an iron-willed comeback as Burrillville won its Homecoming contest, 20-15. The Broncos head into their bye week with a 4-0 record in Division II-B, 5-0 overall.
As for Thatcher, he ran for 141 yards on 26 carries and caught three passes for another 34 yards.
Defensively, he was part of a Bronco unit that held the visiting Islanders (1-2, Division II-B) off the scoreboard during the second half. Middletown jumped out to a 15-0 lead on a pair of long touchdown runs.
“We all stayed composed. We never stop trying,” said Thatcher when asked about the mood on the BHS sideline after falling behind by multiple scores – and on their home turf no less.“Our conditioning and our heart for the game just kept us in it.”
After Thatcher scored, Burrillville needed to weather one final Middletown onslaught. The Islanders possessed the ball for five minutes and 58 seconds before the well ran completely dry. On fourth-and-2 from the BHS 8-yard line, Middletown tailback Marcus Remy managed just one yard. Positioned in the secondary, Burrillville senior Aidan Tupper wasted little time in swooping in and delivering what proved to be the game-clinching tackle.
“The boys responded,” said Burrillville coach Gennaro Ferraro. “Bobby was tough on defense and when we needed those tough yards … he made a couple of plays when things didn’t appear to be going right. He played really well today.”
Ferraro’s sophomore quarterback took another major step in the right direction as Wesley Cournoyer passed for 156 yards and two scores. His first scoring strike saw him unleash a bullet that fellow 10th grader Matt Gibeau caught in the far corner of the end zone. The second touchdown was the result of a fade route with Cournoyer displaying nice touch as senior Sam Clifford won his 1-on-1 battle.
“That was actually an audible
“Bobby was tough on defense and when we needed those tough yards … he made a couple of plays when things didn’t appear to be going right. He played really well today.”
— Burrillville coach Gennaro Ferraro
and Wesley handled that perfectly,” said Ferraro, referencing his QB’s scoring pass to Clifford. “He’s a special talent, for sure.”
Feelings of serious concern washed over the Alumni Field crowd as Middletown succeeded in removing the Burrillville fans from the equation – at least in the early going. After Burrillville’s first offensive series stalled at the Middletown 30 and resulted in a turnover on downs, the Islanders were the benefactors of a 64-yard rushing score as Remy found plenty of daylight at 6:03 of the first quarter.
Burrillville opened the second quarter with first-and-goal at the Middletown 5 but stalled again. A five-yard loss, a no gain, and two incompletions resulted in yet another turnover on downs for the home team. With 90 yards to go, Middletown’s offense grabbed it all in one fell swoop as Tyrone Francis ran to daylight to make it 15-0 in favor of the Islanders.
The Broncos succeeded in cutting into the Islander lead with Cournoyer capping off a nine-play, 58-yard drive with a four-yard scoring pass to Francis. The first touchdown of the game for the home team came with 49 seconds left in the opening half.
“Absolutely, that particularly touchdown was huge, especially after getting skunked like we did earlier,” said Ferraro, looking back at the missed opportunity when the Broncos had firstand-goal to go at the Middletown 5 and came away empty.
The second half
saw
a
more
dialed-in Burrillville outfit on both sides of the ball. The defense got things started by forcing Middletown into a three-and-out. The offense gladly took the baton as the Broncos organized an 11-play scoring drive that was aided by a pair of personal fouls on the Islanders. Cournoyer showed nice touch on the six-yard hookup with Clifford, who briefly juggled the ball before securing it at 6:48 of the third quarter.
The Middletown lead was down to 15-13 heading into the fourth. By that point, Burrillville’s early-game malaise had long been forgotten. With Thatcher continuing to serve as a battering ram, the Broncos were well on their way to passing their latest test.
“It feels good … winning into the bye,” said Thatcher.
Added Ferraro, “We had to tighten things up and we did. The bye week, we’re going to take care of some loose ends, get some rest, and put the season to date in perspective. We’ve been tested and today was the biggest one to date. Middletown is a good team but we responded to that punch to the face.” Middletown 7–8–0–0 --- 15
Burrillville 0–6–7–7 --- 20
M – Marcus Remy 64-yard run (Jack Clare kick)
M – Tyron Francis 90-yard run (Freddie Killian pass from Anthony Joseph Lewis)
B– Matt Gibeau 4-yard
(pass failed)
B – Sam Clifford 6-yard
(Ronald Stanish kick)
B – Bobby Thatcher 11-yard run
pass
pass
from
from
Wesley
Wesley
heading
Cournoyer
Cournoyer
(Stanish kick)